Ragnarok Approaching
by invisiblewing
Summary: Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly are abducted by a reclusive tribe who believe Ragnarok is coming to pass. Hiccup is left on Berk, hoping his time to find his friends hasn't already run out.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This story occurs within the frame of** _ **Riders/Defenders of Berk**_ **but is independent of the TV series.**

 **This story is rated T for violence and graphic descriptions. No profanity.**

 **Reviews, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

I finally did it. The product of letting my mind wander finally became real. Finally. Like, _really_ finally. I didn't care how it looked, as long as it worked. And therein was the problem: I couldn't test it. There was going to be no practice whatsoever.

How do you practice flying on your own, anyway? The best I could figure, I'd have to get a fast-enough head-start. That meant using Toothless to get me high enough and moving fast enough to use my new contraption.

I was building a flying suit. Well, it sounded really good like that. In reality, I was fashioning a _gliding_ suit. My main concern in actually putting it together was keeping the connections strong. The surface I had put in between the legs and from my arms to my sides was the most flexible leather I could find. I sewed it to the clothing I used to fly around on Toothless to make sure I was still aerodynamic. I was worried about the stitches coming undone, though. In all of my experience flying on Toothless' back, I never saw him fold his wings in any way and still continue flying. Any time he folded his wings, he entered a dive. I had to keep the leather taut. To do that, I had to extend my arms away from my sides and spread my legs. I had to pull on the leather to use its surface area. And if some of the stitching came apart, I wouldn't be able to access that surface area.

Using the strongest twine I could gather, I began sewing the leather to my clothes. It was unbelievably difficult, and after about six inches on my right pants leg, my fingers felt like they were going to burst. The action of sewing wasn't difficult. You push the needle in, it pulls the twine through the hole, you pull several inches, and then repeat the process about half an inch down the line. It turns out that the twine was much thicker than the needle. Which made actually pulling the material through the holes difficult. Several times, I lost my grip on the needle, which scared me each time. A sharp metal object piercing directly through my left thumb? No, thank you. And don't get me started on trying to thread the needle.

After I finished the right leg, I took a short break, letting my hand finish cramping. I stretched my wrist and fingers, trying to get at least some normal motion back.

"You know, it's almost funny watching you struggle to sew," a girl's voice said.

I looked up, although I knew exactly who it was. "Oh, that?" I asked. "It's actually really easy. I just don't want anyone else to know about it."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Liar." She paused. "Can I come in?" she asked.

I nodded, still focusing on my left hand for the moment. I heard the door leading into the forge creak open, followed by a clicking sound as it closed behind Astrid.

"I just checked on Toothless," she said. "How long did you say he's been like this?"

I sighed. "I guess it started two days ago."

"He's not getting any better. I got him outside before he ruined your house again."

I took a deep breath. "Thanks," I said. There was no feeling behind it.

The flying vest I was dreaming up and creating was the product of letting my mind wander while taking care of Toothless. I hated to see him sick like this, especially for two days. Cleaning the floor after he threw up was horrible, and the inside of the house smelled like rotten fish no matter how hard the wind blew to ventilate it. It was anything other than a great way to start our transition from spring into summer.

The last time Toothless had fallen ill was when I was hiding him in the cove. It was some kind of one-day ordeal, and that was nasty enough. But this was at least two days. Maybe even three, counting the day before I truly noticed he was sick. He was eating less that day and acting a little more tired than usual. The next morning, I was jarred awake by a gagging sound from his rock, followed by a cascade of rotten-smelling liquid pouring from his mouth. You can't fall asleep for a while after hearing that. Or seeing it, for that matter.

After nearly hurling from witnessing that, followed by the nauseating feeling of cleaning up after my dragon, I did what worked two years ago. I brought Toothless water to keep him cool and hydrated. And two days later, he had barely eaten anything, and he was still burning hot to the touch. He was drinking water, but about half of it was coming back up. He could barely focus his eyes, and his breathing was labored. A lot of the time, he was panting slightly. I liked listening to him breathing because it had a slow, relaxing sound, just like the bellows I used in the forge. But the last two days were short breaths, often accompanied by wheezing and occasionally struggling to get air into his lungs.

I had been by his side for the past day and a half, keeping him company. And I was about to go stir-crazy if I didn't do something soon. As I was ambling toward the forge, the idea about the flying suit hit me. It was something to focus my energy on for a while, something to do while my mind reset. Even though I had only one leg finished and my left hand was twisted from cramping, I felt more relaxed. I felt better able to handle what Toothless did in the next few hours.

"Are you hungry?" Astrid asked me.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I could eat something. No fish tonight, though."

"Come on," Astrid told me while turning toward the door leading out. "We'll find something."

I put the flying suit down in my study and followed her out of the forge. I walked behind her as we entered the great hall for supper. Almost immediately, I was surrounded by the smell of cooked, palatable food. And I realized how hungry I really was. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, mainly because Toothless' illness wouldn't let me. Both from a psychological standpoint and a taking-care-of-him standpoint. But for the time being, I didn't have to worry about him for a little while.

I paused for a moment, taking the scene in. Dozens of Vikings were sitting at long tables, chowing down on whatever meal they had chosen. Several of them were having conversations with each other about random events on Berk. Still others were silently eating their meal. By the time I realized Astrid had left me standing alone in the middle of the great hall, I saw her heading my direction, precariously balancing two plates and two mugfuls of water in her arms. I took the initiative and sat down at a random table. Glanced around to check for anyone who might disturb us. Nobody I recognized was sitting nearby.

Astrid put a mug and plate in front of me. Chicken meat was her choice for the evening.

"Thanks, Astrid," I said.

"Anytime," she responded as she sat down. We began eating our meals without another word.

Even though we didn't say anything to each other, I still felt calmer in her presence. It was nice to know there was at least one person on Berk who liked being around me.

We ate our entire meals in silence. Just like she had brought the plates and mugs out, I gathered them up and took them to the back of the hall for washing. I returned to our little area and sat back down.

"What were you sewing in the forge?" she asked.

I shrugged a little, not knowing how she was gonna respond to my crazy idea. "A flying suit," I said simply.

Her eyes widened slightly. "So you can fly next to Toothless?" she asked. She didn't quite understand how I was planning on using it, and I wasn't really sure either.

"I guess. I'll have to find out how I can use it once Toothless is healthy."

"It's no good on its own?" she asked. "Hiccup, I don't get how you're going to…fly."

I tried to explain what I was thinking to her. "I…I guess it's not really flying. Probably more like gliding. I think I can take Toothless on a flight and jump off his back, and we can glide next to each other. I guess for a short while." I paused. Looked at her and noticed she was lost in some thought. "It…It's a crazy idea, and I don't even know if it's going to work."

Astrid was still lost in thought, then dismissed whatever was occupying her. "You're always crazy," she said sarcastically. "Sounds like fun though. I mean, if you can train Toothless for it."

I smirked in acknowledgement. "Yeah, there's a lot more than just sewing stuff together. Not only do I have to train Toothless for it, I also have to modify his tail fin so he can maneuver in the air. And a thousand other things I haven't thought of yet."

"Sounds like you got all the basics covered," she said with a wry smile. After a few seconds both of us broke down giggling.

There was a break in our conversation. I took a deep breath and said, "I'm gonna check on Toothless." And stood.

"I'll come with you."

We walked silently toward my house. As I pulled the door open, a wave of rotten air washed over us. I turned my head slightly, trying to keep the meal I had just eaten from coming back up. I sucked in a quick breath through my mouth, but that didn't help because I could taste the air just as easily as I could smell it. I had no choice but to brave it and march inside.

I climbed the stairs and saw Toothless still shivering on his rock. There were no pools of sick around him, but I noticed a small string of liquid connecting the side of his mouth to the rock he was lying on.

I had slept indoors for the past two nights, but tonight required I stay outdoors. The penetrating odor of Toothless' sickness was way too much to handle.

I put my hand on Toothless' neck and gently massaged his skin. He was still hot to the touch, and I felt him shaking underneath my hand.

"Hey, buddy," I whispered to him. "Let's go outside."

Toothless slowly craned his neck and looked at me with a sideways gaze. He groaned slightly from the effort, telling me his joints were stiff as well. But he tried to get to all fours anyway. Toothless began panting, but he eventually slithered off his rock and haltingly stepped toward me.

"He looks worse than earlier tonight," Astrid said quietly.

"Hopefully the fresh air will help," I said quietly. I kept eye contact with Toothless as his legs buckled each time he took a step down toward the floor. The staircase was difficult for him to negotiate, especially after about the first three steps or so. His breathing became more labored as the strain to move and brace himself against gravity increased. If I could just get him outside, we'd be okay. There'd be less worrying about having to clean up after he hurled.

"C'mon, buddy," I pleaded with him. He nearly crawled through the doorway. I got him about fifteen feet away from the entrance to my house when his back legs gave up. Toothless' hips met the ground first, soon followed by his chest as his front legs gave way, followed by his head. He groaned weakly as exhaustion set in. His eyes were unfocused, like he was staring past the horizon.

It was a shock to see this much effort just to get out of the house. Normally, Toothless was a ball of energy, always looking for the next flight or another romp with Stormfly. But not tonight.

"The air smells so much better out here," Astrid observed.

"Yeah, that's why I wanted to get him out of the house," I replied. "I don't know if I can survive another night with that smell." I took a deep breath, thankful for the fresh air. "I'm gonna get some water. Can you stay with him?" I asked Astrid.

She nodded. "I'll be here when you get back."

Before I could take a step toward the great hall, I heard a violent, hurking sound come from Toothless. He already had his eyes squeezed shut as he opened his mouth. He gagged as a small river of foul-smelling liquid trickled down his tongue. I forced my vision to un-focus on the scene, but not before I saw the inside of Toothless' mouth was much whiter than it should have been.

Through pure luck, I guessed, this particular heave wasn't a torrent of liquid spilling out of Toothless' mouth. I could clean this up with a bucketful of water in no time.

I groaned, trying to suppress a wave of nausea. "You can move him somewhere else," I told Astrid. And walked off without another word. I walked back into the great hall and filled two buckets with water. It was mostly empty, except for the few Vikings who were still gossiping about happenings in the village. Everybody was on a schedule, it seemed, and that schedule was the same throughout Berk. You eat meals at a particular time of day. You wake up and go to sleep at particular times of day. And for me, I made frequent trips to the great hall for water throughout the day. Toothless being sick was really upending my schedule. And when I say "schedule," I'm talking about flights.

I took the buckets out of the great hall and walked back toward Toothless and Astrid. When I had left them, they were near the right side of my house, if you were facing it. Astrid had moved Toothless about twenty feet to my left, away from the smell. I put one of the buckets down in front of Toothless' snout. I saw the tip of it curl, and soon after that, he lifted his head and began lapping slowly at the water in front of him. I let Toothless drink at his pace, knowing everything was gonna happen sluggishly for the next few minutes. Once he finished the water, I moved the bucket away from him and began spreading water from the other bucket onto his side, using a cupped left hand to transfer the water to his skin.

Toothless took a deep breath and sighed as soon as the water met his skin. I felt him relax under my touch, and I realized I could harness the magic he always had, even if it was just for a fleeting moment. Granted, the water was doing most of the work at relaxing him, but I felt immensely better about Toothless' predicament when he gave that sigh. Astrid and I smiled at the same time. I gently rubbed the water over his skin, spreading it so it would evaporate faster. Which translated into more cooling.

I didn't say a word to Toothless because I wanted to lock myself in the moment. For whatever reason, I was content for now just by massaging water into Toothless' flank.

I looked toward Toothless' face and noticed his eyes were closed. But there seemed to be a little relaxation in his face. His mouth wasn't drawn into a slight grimace, and he wasn't trying to squeeze his eyelids shut. All this time, I had been wondering how to access the magic Astrid and Toothless could channel at will. And I learned just now that you don't ever "access" or "channel" it. The magic comes to you without you realizing it. And it often leaves just as quickly.

"Looks like he's feeling a little better," Astrid said. She was standing with another bucket of water in her hand. It was about halfway empty. "I took care of our previous spot, by the way."

I took a deep breath, my mind coming back down to earth. "Thanks. I hope he's feeling better. It's a lot easier to take care of him when he's healthy," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

Astrid scowled slightly. But she only paused. "Okay if I bring Stormfly over?" she asked after a short moment.

"Sure."

Without a word, Astrid stood and began ambling toward her house. She left the water near me. I let Toothless drink out of the bucket while we waited. About five minutes later, I heard two pairs of footsteps approaching, one pair light and the other pair heavy in the grass. I looked up and saw Astrid with her dragon.

Stormfly stopped near Toothless and eased downward. She sniffed at him for a few seconds before settling nearby with a soft warble. I heard her breathing, slightly higher pitched than what Toothless sounded like normally. Stormfly adjusted her position slightly and sighed. I watched as Astrid shuffled over to her dragon and placed a hand on her snout. She sat down, and Stormfly moved her head toward Astrid so that she could protect her. It was comforting to know we had dragons who would defend us at a moment's notice.

I continued massaging water into Toothless' flank until my muscles got tired. I was on my hands and knees, having to reach often with my left arm. After a while, there was a deep burning feeling in my back and hips. If I continued too much longer, I'd lose all the fine control I had, which wouldn't be comfortable for Toothless.

I stood, stretching my back and hips. Walked over to Astrid and Stormfly and sat down. The sky was mostly black with a thousand points of light fading in. And in a few minutes, the stars would be joined by a lazily drifting glow.

As I predicted, the skylights were right on time. A green misty glow settled into the sky, making me grateful it wasn't blue. I didn't want to go through all the craziness that happened with the Flightmare last year. Especially now, considering Toothless was sick.

I reached to my left and stroked Toothless' head. He didn't respond, but that was fine with me. He was probably asleep by now.

"Thanks for your help, Astrid," I said quietly.

"Any time."

I watched the hypnotic dance of the skylights over us. I heard Stormfly breathing steadily, joined by Toothless' quicker breathing. Thankfully, it sounded less labored than a few hours ago. I fell asleep knowing he was gonna be fine within a couple of days.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hiccup, what are you doing here? You're not drunk, are you?"

I groggily opened my eyes. Normally, when I feel secure about things around me, I get a good night's sleep and feel refreshed in the morning. As I opened my eyes today, that wasn't how I felt. I was still tired. Sluggish, even. Like I had somehow stayed awake through the night, fallen asleep just before sunrise, and then someone came to wake me up twenty minutes later.

"Wh-what? What did I drink?" I tried to ask in my stupor. I heard the words tumble out of my mouth, and they sounded more like incoherent gibberish than anything else.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" the voice asked.

Everything was still blurry to me. I couldn't tell what the time of day was because the light was completely blinding. Couldn't even squint. It didn't matter if it was morning or noon or evening. Everything was too bright.

"I didn't drink any ale." Still a bunch of meaningless sounds. I could think the words, but my mouth wouldn't form them.

"Hiccup, for Odin's sake, _wake up!_ " the voice shouted.

In my daze, I only had one thought: _That sounds like Gobber._

I felt a hand grab my upper right arm and hoist me upward. I grunted in surprise and a little bit of pain, feeling my shoulder about to pop. The Viking who sounded like Gobber set me down on my feet, where I promptly fell forward and collapsed from lack of balance. I really did make an effort to stand, but my brain and body felt like they were separated for the time being. Maybe I actually _did_ have too much to drink last night.

I tried to think back to what happened last night. I was taking care of Toothless, trying to get his fever under control. And I felt good about his recovery. So after that, I must have wandered over to the great hall and joined some kind of drinking contest that lasted until maybe an hour ago.

"I'm not gonna tell you again. You've got to stand up. It's past noon already."

 _I must've really had some fun last night,_ I thought. My mind was still trying to connect things together, and I soon realized if I was inebriated last night, then this morning would have been horrible. I only felt tired, not sick. And I had only _tasted_ ale or mead once. I remembered hating the taste and avoiding those drinks altogether after that. Something wasn't making sense.

Slowly, I got my knees under myself and balanced precariously on all fours. I looked at the surface below me and noticed random blades of grass sticking up between my fingers. I knew grass didn't grow inside houses, so I must have been outside.

At that moment, my mind connected with something else: I had spent the night outside with Toothless to take care of him. I also remembered I didn't want to be in my house until sometime later because of the rancid odor indoors from Toothless heaving so often.

I listened for a few seconds, but didn't hear any dragons nearby. "Where's Toothless?" I finally asked reflexively. Still drunken-sounding. And still generally incoherent.

"HICCUP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Gobber shouted. "We've been looking for Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly all morning!" Even though I wasn't making much sense, he must have understood what I was asking.

I groaned, trying to connect what he was telling me with his tone of voice. It couldn't have been good, and even sounded a little urgent. I glanced around myself, the brightness slowly ebbing. There was no large black form anywhere near me. Translated, Toothless wasn't here. And if what Gobber told me was correct, my dragon was either hiding or not on Berk.

I sat down on the grass, my left side facing Gobber. After a few seconds, I asked, "Wh-what happened?" My tongue and lips wouldn't move the way I wanted, so it came out a little more like _whahaffen_.

Gobber sighed in frustration. "You really have no idea, do you, lad?" he asked.

I shrugged slowly, still staring at the horizon.

I felt a quick touch on the left side of my neck. "What's this?" Gobber asked. Instinctively, I rubbed the area he had just asked about and felt nothing. "Move your hand, Hiccup." I did, and he knelt, looking closely at my neck. I heard and felt his breath as he examined the area. Finally, he said, "That's a puncture mark."

"From what?" I asked. In my mind, my speech seemed perfect. But when I actually tried to form the words, they still came out like I was inebriated. I finally turned my head to look at him and felt my neck was stiff. Maybe from the puncture wound or from sleeping in an awkward position. I groaned quietly in effort to meet Gobber's eyes.

"You don't remember anything from last night?" he asked.

I turned my gaze slightly away from him and shuffled on my rear to face him front-on. I tipped to my right somewhat before finally regaining a smidgen of balance. It was much more comfortable facing him front-on rather than having to turn my head. I swallowed, mentally preparing myself as best I could. "All I re-mem-ber was…ly-ing…next to…Tooth-less," I said at an excruciatingly slow pace, focusing on every syllable. To my ears, it seemed to help somewhat. I knew I still sounded ridiculous, but I saw Gobber acknowledge what I told him. As the words began to make sense in my head, my heart rate quickened slightly and I felt my palms begin to sweat. I tried to act casual as I clumsily wiped them on my pants, but it brought no comfort. I was beginning to put together what Gobber had told me, and I finally realized none of it was good.

"Nobody can find Toothless, Astrid or Stormfly," Gobber repeated.

As my mind finally cleared, I began to put together what might have happened. I took a deep breath and began guessing. _Someone paid us a visit last night and somehow forced Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly to go with them_ , I thought. I began to panic a little inside, trying to make that sentence as short as I possibly could. "Av-duh-ted," I said, trying to form the word "abducted." I looked at Gobber almost pleadingly, hoping I wouldn't have to explain myself. I paused, wondering how my stiff neck and overall grogginess fit with my guess. Maybe whoever visited us had a sedative?

"You think so?" Gobber asked. He was still able to translate what I was thinking. Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing this conversation was inching somewhere. He paused for a beat and continued. "Mulch was on guard last night. I'll check with him." Without another word, Gobber stood and hobbled off to find Mulch.

I attempted to roll my eyes in irritation, but the gesture backfired because it only brought on a dizzy spell. I quickly looked down, focusing on the grass near my right foot. I knew Mulch wasn't someone I could easily trust. He meant well, but his role on Berk was mostly confined to being support for Bucket. But had it been Bucket on guard, there would have been no chance for us to figure out what had happened.

Slowly, I moved to stand. I was able to get to a somewhat-upright position with my hands on my knees, but I felt myself teetering. It took me way too much effort to stand on my own, so I sat back down with no grace whatsoever. Some of my breath was knocked out of my lungs as my rear end hit the ground. I put my forehead in my hands, wondering if my idea about someone sneaking into Berk was actually correct. I groaned, a mild wave of nausea washing over me and mixing dangerously with the worry that I was starting to develop about Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly. My palms were still sweating a little, my heart was moving too quickly for comfort, and my stomach had that fluttering sensation.

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the familiar _pat-thump_ rhythm of Gobber hobbling his way toward me. But there was a second set of footsteps accompanying him. And they had the same _pat-thump_ sound, which told me Gobber likely had Mulch in tow.

Both sets of footsteps stopped near me, and I heard Gobber sigh. "Do you want to tell him?" he asked under his breath.

Mulch didn't say a word, but he sat down next to me, facing the same general direction I was. He looked into the distance, took a deep breath, and said, "Hiccup, I'm sorry, lad." He paused for just a beat, but didn't wait for me to ask him anything. "I only saw four men carrying your dragon away. Couldn't get near them in time, and they didn't do anything when I yelled in their direction."

I closed my eyes. But I had no other response. I felt tears forming between my eyelids, but there was nothing I could say or do. That mind-body connection was gone again.

After a long pause, Mulch broke the silence. "I think Stoick has seen this symbol before. I'll find him and ask." He stood and walked off.

I had no idea what Mulch was talking about. All I could think of was how four men carried Toothless away from me. For a moment, I wondered what Mulch felt like as he watched the scene unfold from afar. And I wondered how those four men were able to keep from waking the entire village. Stormfly was just as good at perceiving threats as Toothless was. She was healthy. So why didn't she defend us?

"Hiccup, lad. Mulch is going to find your father. We'll get your dragon back," Gobber said, but it didn't sound reassuring to me. Especially because I had almost no mobility for the time being. There wasn't a thing I could do to get Toothless, Astrid or Stormfly back until I could walk without effort. And there was no telling how long I'd be incapacitated. I felt a single tear slide down my cheek, unable to do anything to stop it.

There was only one other time when I felt this helpless. The night before my right of passage, when we still fought and killed dragons. I had never cried that much in my entire life, and it wasn't from pain or loss. It was from fear. I was afraid of what was gonna happen to Toothless the next day because I couldn't be around him the entire time to keep other Vikings away from him.

I tried in vain to convince myself everything was gonna be fine, that we'd find Toothless and be on our merry little way. But when you're confronted with one of your worst fears, it's impossible to maintain a positive mindset. That idea disappeared as quickly as it came, my fear squashing it flat.

"Hiccup, you've got to stand up, lad," Gobber said. "I wanna see Toothless again just as much as you do."

Gobber was grasping at straws, but to humor him, I tried standing anyway. I hoped this grogginess would wear off eventually so that I could actually move around.

A pair of footsteps grew louder as I made my way to my hands and knees. I was breathing somewhat heavily, so I couldn't distinguish Mulch's footsteps from my dad's.

"Is he standing yet?" I heard my dad ask.

"No, Stoick. Best we can tell, they left Hiccup and took the other three," Gobber replied.

"Stoick, I found this leading to the docks last night," Mulch said. "By the time I got there, they had already cast off. It's not from Berk, so I think one of the four men dropped this on their way out." I heard the soft rustle of heavy fabric exchanging hands. "It's not torn, so I think it must have just dropped from him."

I heard my dad flip the object over. Slowly, I moved my foot and peg more underneath my body so I could actually stand without keeling over immediately. My curiosity was driving my effort for the moment. I stood and wavered for a few seconds, catching a glimpse of the garment in my dad's hand. It wasn't leather, and it had a single symbol on it, not quite centered. I didn't recognize it at all. It had been painted with several shades of reds and blues. The symbol was weathered slightly, so some of the colors faded into each other. Had it been fresh, it would've been easy to tell this was an intricate design, something only an artisan might have permission to reproduce.

"Do you think he intentionally dropped this?" my dad asked.

I had gained enough balance to stand without tipping over. The act of walking somewhere had yet to be achieved.

I saw Mulch shrug his shoulders. The look on his face said he was being honest. "It might be a taunt," he conceded after a silence.

I turned my focus back to my dad, expecting him to respond. Moving my head brought back another dizzy spell, so I leaned over and put my hands on my knees to keep myself upright. I closed my eyes again and realized that was a bad choice. I felt my weight beginning to shift precariously. Luckily, Gobber noticed too and grabbed onto my right upper arm to hold me steady. He pulled me into an upright position and said, "Oh, no you don't. We're not going through _that_ production again." He kept his hold on me until I was standing without any trouble again.

I tried to focus on my dad, hoping he had at least some knowledge of these people. "Wh-who…are they?" I asked quietly. I kept my speech simple. It was still too difficult for me to hold a conversation.

"I think they're from Scandza," my dad said, examining the cloth. I listened, but didn't look at either Gobber or Mulch, afraid of bringing on another dizzy spell. My dad turned toward Mulch and asked, "Why didn't you wake someone who has a dragon?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mulch's lips turn ghost-white. He never thought of it. "I…I…" he stammered.

"You never thought of it, did you?" my dad confirmed.

Mulch took a deep breath and averted his eyes downward. "You're right, sir. I never thought to do that."

Like I said, Mulch meant well, but he wasn't necessarily trustworthy all the time.

My dad sighed gruffly. He was silently chastising Mulch for not responding to what happened to Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly. I was frustrated with him too, but there wasn't much I could do about it now. But I quickly realized my dad _could_ cover for Mulch's actions though. He had a Rumblehorn.

We had recently been practicing tracking drills at the Academy with my dad's new dragon, Skullcrusher. We gave him an article of clothing or a saddle to smell and let him find the appropriate rider or dragon. Humorously, he almost always went straight to the person in question's house because that's where the scent was strongest. Obviously. But after a little bit of practice and some gentle coaxing from my dad and the other riders, we taught Skullcrusher how to track someone around the island. Just like Toothless when he was learning a new skill, Skullcrusher picked this up amazingly fast. Probably because he had this behavior naturally and we were capitalizing on it.

I was about to say something regarding Skullcrusher when Gobber piped up. "Stoick, what about Skullcrusher?" he asked. "Can you use him to get to Scandza?"

There was a brief pause. I was hoping for my dad to give the answer I wanted.

"…Yes," my dad said after a few seconds in thought.

My mind perked. For the first time today, I felt a twang of hope course through my chest.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hiccup," my dad said, catching my attention. I turned toward him and nearly lost my balance. The sedative still hadn't worn off, but being able to stay upright after moving was an improvement. I waited for my vision to stop swimming before focusing on my dad. "Don't bring anything that says you live on Berk."

"Why?" I asked almost immediately.

My dad took a deep breath. I saw him look away for a second before returning his gaze to me. "When I had was about to become chief, I wanted to conquer everything around me. And I was stupid enough to attack the Vikings in Scandza."

I looked at him with a confused expression on my face. Normally, my dad was more worried about _protecting_ us. The only thing I knew he attacked was dragons, and even that was in the past.

"Confused?" he asked. I nodded slowly. "I thought the best way to protect my people was to attack other tribes. If we scared them enough, they wouldn't bother us." He paused for a beat. Waved his right hand slightly in a dismissive gesture. "This was all before you were born." He sighed. "And it's not smart to use force to silence other tribes."

There was a long silence between us. I was still trying to process what he had said. Partly because he never told me about these things, and partly because my mind was still swimming. "Do…do they remember you?" I finally asked.

The look behind his eyes told me he didn't know for sure, but he was expecting the worst. "Probably," he said. "I can't risk being seen there."

"You have Skullcrusher," I pointed out. I still had slurred speech, but my words at least made a little bit of sense coming out of my mouth. I had progressed to moving my lips the correct way, but my tongue still felt dreadfully slow. "And Gobber has Grump." For the time being, I had to make what I said succinct.

My dad shook his head, telling me to get rid of the thought.

I continued as long as my mouth would make semi-coherent noise. "They can protect us."

"Just don't give them any hint about Berk," my dad continued. "You don't want to bring a problem like that home."

He never addressed my concern about our dragons being able to defend us, but in true Stoick fashion, he changed the subject so he could close it. End of conversation.

I sighed in defeat. "When do we go?" I asked.

"If you want to see Toothless again, we need to leave now," he said. "They still perform dragon sacrifices in Scandza."

 _Definitely leave now,_ I thought. A dragon was a perfect sacrifice for any tribe. Especially if they got their hands on a Night Fury named Toothless. Sacrificing him would be the ultimate statement to the gods for whatever they wanted. Bless them with fertile ground? Check. Look favorably upon them during combat? Check. Perform astounding miracles in healing the sick? Check. Allow them to conquer any other land they find? Check.

"What do I need?" I asked. Packing things into a knapsack didn't make sense for what I was about to do.

My dad confirmed my thoughts when he replied, "Nothing. You get Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly, and leave."

I took a deep breath. "Then I'm ready," I said quietly. I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into, but I didn't care. Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly were my only concern at this point.

"Eat something first," he suggested. He motioned with his hand to follow him toward the great hall. My shoulders slumped a little as I realized I'd have to walk with him. While this stupid sedative was still wearing off. I tried to focus as much as my mind would allow and mentally rehearsed the motions to begin walking. Pick up my peg slightly and step forward. Follow suit with my right foot, just high enough to avoid tripping.

I committed myself and took that first step. As my peg found earth again, I wobbled, trying to keep my balance. I hopped slightly, spreading my legs just a little more than normal. The wobbling stopped, although my vision was still swimming just a little. I brought my right foot forward, listening to it rustle through the grass and felt the faint shock of it hitting the ground. I didn't wobble this time, which was a massive improvement. I continued stepping haltingly, making sure not to fall over. And I kept the great hall in view.

I had taken maybe ten steps when I saw my dad reach the main plaza. He turned to check on me and gave a visible sigh. I continued walking slowly, trying to show him in vain that I was okay, but he immediately saw through that lie. He strode back to me, grabbed my arm and pulled me with him through the plaza and toward the great hall. I didn't complain. I was just as impatient as he was, but I couldn't make a show of it besides getting frustrated. He dragged me past several other Vikings going about their business for the day. A few of them gave me sympathetic looks, so I guessed they were part of the search party for Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly.

My dad dragged me up the steps toward the great hall, my legs still not entirely working. We entered, and he sat me down at a table near the entrance. Walked toward the back of the great hall and returned with cooked fish and water for both of us.

"Thanks," I mumbled to him. I saw my dad nod silently and start on his meal. I did the same. This routine felt somewhat empty to me without Toothless by my side. I enjoyed watching him stick his head into a basket of fish, followed by a grunt. He always held eye contact with me for a second or two, like he was thanking me for the meal. He'd swallow the fish whole and then return to the basket without another sound. That little ritual never changed. Today, I realized how much I liked it.

We ate in silence. I finished my meal and drank the last of the water, and my dad collected the plates and mugs, taking them to the back of the great hall for cleaning. While he was back there, I stood carefully. And realized I had a lot more strength in my legs than just a few moments ago when I was dragged into the great hall. I took a step toward the large double doors at the entrance and felt almost no wobbling. My vision had even cleared. I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking my dad in my head for buying me enough time to recover from that sedative. It wasn't normally like him to think ahead, but at this moment, I was grateful he did something out of the ordinary.

"Feel better?" my dad asked as he caught up with me.

"Yeah," I said. "Thanks."

He didn't need to support me as we walked toward our house. I waited outside as he went in to fetch his dragon. Within a minute, both of them emerged. Skullcrusher was gigantic, even compared to my dad. His head was reddish colored and faded to a drab green somewhere at his neck. The rest of his body was also that same green color. He had a single horn on his snout and several plated ridges extending from the back of his head to his middle back. He always looked like he was tensed for a pounce because of a large hunch in his back.

Skullcrusher followed my dad out of the house, watching him intently. My dad produced the heavy cloth Mulch had given him and held it in front of his dragon's snout. Skullcrusher sniffed at the cloth as I watched his eyes for any sign of recognition. Without fail, he focused and turned in the direction of the docks.

My dad looked at me from the corner of his eye and asked, "Are you sure you're ready?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm ready," I said. It didn't sound convincing, but I didn't have a choice in the matter. I didn't want to arrive at Scandza to find a Night Fury carcass. Or a Deadly Nadder carcass either.

"You'll need something to hold on to," my dad stated. He had thought ahead again and produced a thick section of rope. I watched, slightly impressed at his newfound planning ability, as he looped the rope under Skullcrusher's saddle near the back. I heard his dragon breathing as my dad got everything situated. Skullcrusher sounded like a forceful version of Toothless. The sound didn't relax me at all like Toothless could; more than anything, I felt my neck and shoulders tensing slightly.

After a few seconds, my dad stepped toward Skullcrusher's head and mounted. I took that as my cue to follow suit and grabbed onto the rope. Hoisted myself up onto Skullcrusher's back. I used my right foot to gain purchase on his hide and pulled myself into the saddle. As soon as my dad saw I was on the saddle and holding onto the rope, he scooted backward into a more-or-less sitting position.

"Tie the rope around your legs," he instructed.

I did as I was told, fumbling slightly with the rope. I cinched the rope over my legs, making sure it wasn't too tight and said, "Ready."

My dad leaned forward in the saddle and said quietly to Skullcrusher, "You know what to do." He flicked his right foot into the dragon's side, and Skullcrusher took off without hesitation.

There was a lot of power behind his wingbeats, although it took Skullcrusher a while to accelerate to speed. Toothless could jump from a standstill and reach a blindingly fast speed within just a few seconds.

I held onto the rope securing my legs, but as Skullcrusher's speed increased, I felt myself leaning backward. Instinctively, I wrapped my right calf and peg around the rope on either side of me and shuffled backward in the saddle. It gave me space to lean forward, which helped to ease my worry of falling off Skullcrusher's back.

I felt Skullcrusher's wingbeats coursing through his body as he flew on a beeline toward our destination. He flew maybe a dozen feet above the water's surface, which made sense to me. If these people came to Berk by boat, then the scent they left behind would have been close to the water's surface.

After several minutes, I felt my lower back begin to ache. Without thinking, I scooted forward and wrapped my left arm underneath my dad's and held on. I felt him jump slightly then glance toward his arm to find a hand grabbing onto him. He didn't say a word as Skullcrusher continued flying, only turning his attention back to his front. I relaxed slightly, knowing I had a secure hold on both my dad and his dragon.

I tried to keep track of the time we had spent flying, not only to keep myself occupied but also to keep my mind engaged. I didn't want any other aftereffects of the sedative to come back because of what I had to go through during the past few hours. Every so often, I glanced at our shadows, which were to our right. I knew the time of day was probably early-to-mid afternoon, so that meant we were headed south. I saw an island to our left, which I guessed was Berserker Island. It was blurred by the distance, so there was no threat from us or them.

After what seemed like a couple of hours, I felt Skullcrusher bank slightly to his right, still following a scent trail. I peered around my dad's left shoulder and saw a huge island looming in front of us. This was nothing like Berk, where you can see the curvature of the island. Glances to both my left and right just revealed more land in either of those directions.

Skullcrusher landed on the rocky beach, panting slightly. I felt the rise and fall of his hide as he breathed. My dad pulled up on his reins to keep him from going any further into the island. The beach was a gentle slope into a high cliff, but to my right was a wooden structure not unlike what we had in Berk at the docks. It was a walkway leading up the cliff, but there was nothing welcoming about it. On Berk, we had torches at the top of the docks that stayed lit to welcome (or warn) any visitors. This tribe, however, had nothing at the top of their docks. It was just a wooden structure made for going from the coast to the mainland, built entirely for practicality.

My dad swung his right leg over Skullcrusher's saddle and dismounted. I followed suit and stretched my back slightly. I had no problem landing on my feet, but walking around on the beach would be difficult. Not because of the sedative, but because of the rocky texture.

I heard my dad pull in a deep breath and sigh. "I'll stay here with Skullcrusher as long as I can. If anyone spots us, we have to leave. I can't risk all of Berk."

I kept my eyes fixed on the docks several hundred yards away from us. And swallowed. I still was nervous about not having anyone to protect me like people and dragons did on Berk. Turned toward my dad and said, "Okay. Thanks." I paused for a beat and added, "I'll find them."

My dad nodded silently. My cue to start walking.


	4. Chapter 4

The wood used for the docks here wasn't fresh, nor was it anywhere near serviceable. Several planks were missing or cracked, and there weren't enough supports throughout the ramps to make me feel safe. It was obvious the tribe that had built this didn't care. Or they found a different way up toward the mainland and left this structure to rot.

I glanced back toward my dad and Skullcrusher, but there was nothing behind them. The right side of the ramps looked halfway safe, so that was the side I chose to bear my weight as I climbed toward the mainland. I tried to keep my head from moving up and down while stepping so that there was no extra stress on the wood.

I had gotten halfway up the ramp when I felt the entire structure wobble. It was just a quick vibration, but I froze, not daring to breathe or move. A couple seconds later, I heard a slight cracking sound. Looked up toward the mainland. I still had a good ten, maybe fifteen, feet vertically, but the ramp was built so that I was near the cliff wall.

I held my breath and stepped forward with my peg onto an area that looked secure. The entire structure groaned as my weight moved across the supports. Instinctively, my right hand shot out and found the cliff wall. The texture was rough under my touch. Dragging my hand would be a huge mistake because the rocks would shred my skin to ribbons. I gently pushed off the wall and felt the ramp shake again, this time leaning away from the mainland. Checked my progress again, but it told me exactly what I already knew. I had taken exactly two steps closer to my destination.

Sweat was building on my forehead and running down my face as I took another step. I bit my lower lip, feeling my teeth dig into my skin just a little. Took another step. There was no sound underneath, so I stepped again. My eyes were almost level with the surface. I was ready to jump if the ramp collapsed under my feet.

Three more steps. I gingerly moved forward, putting my right hand onto flat ground.

Two more steps. I pressed down with my right hand, trying to take some of the weight off the ramp. I took the final step, bringing my waist high enough to swing my legs over the cliff. As I jumped the structure sighed, and a vibration coursed through my hands. I grunted and scrambled forward in panic, hoping the ground wasn't collapsing under me. All that work and the ground was the weakest surface?

I rolled onto my back, panting, but still on the mainland. The ground didn't collapse, but the shaking continued. As I sat up, I turned toward the center of the island, where I saw a looming grey cloud. It was rolling in all directions and connected to the ground. As I traced its origin with my eyes, I saw it was coming from a mountain that had a similar shape to the mountain on Berk.

This wasn't a cloud. It was a volcano. Not only a volcano, but one that was in the middle of an eruption. I stood, trying to get a better sight line over the tree tops and saw the upper half of what looked like a dome near where the volcano was erupting. We didn't have anything like this on Berk. Our mountain was generally uniform on all sides. But looking at this volcano as it continued belching smoke and steam into the air, I felt small and insecure. Not even Toothless would be able to bring me comfort with this sight looming in the background. That dome was in the distance, and even I could tell it was a pronounced bulge. Kinda like Skullcrusher's back. Behind it and to the left was the apparent peak of the volcano, where all the material was spewing skyward.

Something didn't seem right about this volcano. I couldn't say exactly what, but I had a strong feeling that dome was the reason for my uneasiness.

I brought my gaze to the forest in front of me and saw it was much denser than what I was used to on Berk. The trees here blocked my view of anything more than about a hundred feet deep into the forest.

I started walking with no real direction in mind. I was using all of my senses to tell me where to go. Maybe I'd hear something that sounded like civilization or see dancing light coming from a certain direction. Maybe I'd smell the smoke from a fire. In any of those cases, my plan was to head toward the source. Even if it meant putting my life at risk.

As I threaded my way through the trees, I glanced around every few seconds, trying to determine what was in my surroundings. If there was no civilization nearby, then this forest was a perfect haven for dragons. Especially Changewings.

For a moment, I wondered if any dragon nearby would be wary of the volcano's activity. I figured an earthquake would cause them to at least act skittish, if not entirely quit the area.

As I continued walking, my question was seemingly answered by a creature on my right straining to breathe. I heard it first about thirty feet away and instinctively looked toward the source. I knew almost immediately it wasn't Toothless because the breathing was too high-pitched. This was a smaller dragon.

I turned to my right and stopped, a nagging doubt creeping into my mind. If Changewings were in this forest, this would be a perfect setup for them to snag extra prey. Using a small animal as bait so that another animal comes to investigate. It could be another predator, like a larger dragon, or a stupidly curious human by the name of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. I held my breath, listening for anything else besides that one creature. There was the wind whistling through the fir leaves, but that was it. I glanced around, trying to see anything that would give away a Changewing. Specifically, I was looking for pairs of eyes.

I knew Changewings are typically a reddish color. The back was always darker red than the belly or under the wings. And I knew they spit acid rather than fire. Most importantly, Changewings are notorious for their ability to camouflage. And from what I had heard, their ability to hypnotize, but nobody on Berk had hard proof of that. It's always one of those stories that begins with the phrase, _Nobody who's ventured into that area has come out alive_.

Looking around, I didn't see anything that was cause for alarm except for the growing cloud coming from the volcano. Quietly, I crept toward the breathing sound. It didn't take me long to find the source.

It was a dragon, that was for sure. Definitely not a Changewing, but it looked similar to a Night Terror. I remembered seeing these little monsters up close several weeks ago. They were maybe five feet in length with a slightly longer wingspan. They kinda reminded me of a cross between a Terrible Terror and a Deadly Nadder with short arms and different coloration. A Night Terror was murky grey and black rather than brightly colored. This dragon, however, had the same body shape as a Night Terror, but the reddish color of a Changewing. And there was only one of this dragon here. If it was anything like a Night Terror, this dragon would have been part of a large pack. I wondered where its kin were.

As soon as it saw me sneak around a tree, its eyes went a little wider and its breathing speed increased. Its eyes were bright red, almost glowing. The dragon tried to move away from me, struggling with its hind legs to go anywhere but here. I saw its struggle was useless when I noticed a thick arrow lodged in its midsection. Every time the dragon moved or struggled, a fresh trickle of dark crimson blood coated a miniature river in its side. The arrow must have been driven completely through the dragon and stopped when it entered the tree trunk.

The dragon grunted in panic as it fought the arrow. I saw the pain in its eyes coupled with its fear of me approaching. In its mind, I was a predator who had just found an easy meal. I knelt, trying to put my eyes on the same level as the dragon's. It groaned weakly in pain as it struggled against the arrow holding it fast. I slowly approached on my knees, keeping soft eye contact with the dragon, but it did nothing except provoke a short hiss, followed by a deflating groan. The arrow was causing immeasurable pain to the dragon, but whoever had shot it was either sadistic or horrible at aiming. You don't just wound a dragon and leave it to suffer a long, painful death.

I eventually got close enough to reach out and touch its front paw. I brushed it lightly and at a slow pace, trying to let the dragon know I wasn't a threat. Predictably, it struggled against the arrow with pained groans, jerking its head backward in hopes of getting enough momentum to free itself. The arrow shaft was barely moving, telling me the arrowhead was driven deep into the tree and the wood used was very strong.

I kept lightly brushing its front right leg, not moving any closer until the dragon's struggling subsided. It was breathing heavily as much as the arrow through its flank would allow, but not putting up a fight against me. I crept closer and worked my left hand near the junction between its wing and upper back, mindful of the arrow.

The dragon gave a nasal groan again and renewed its struggle. I kept my hand on its shoulder, massaging its skin gently, hoping it would get the message soon. I couldn't do anything for this dragon, except offer it comfort in its final few moments.

The dragon continued struggling, thrashing its head backward and toward me, still hopelessly optimistic about getting away. I heard and felt a sharp snap as the dragon bucked against the arrow. Looked toward the shaft and saw it was bent a little to the left compared to where it was originally. The dragon had cracked the wood, but that was probably the last thing that needed to happen.

Just as quickly as the dragon had started fighting against the arrow, it stopped and looked at me with its right eye, not breathing. The connection between us lasted for maybe a second or two, but I knew exactly what it meant. Something vital had been broken inside the dragon. I could pinpoint the exact moment it died. Its neck and shoulders slumped, causing its head to drop toward the ground and hang limply from its neck. Its eyes were open and glassy.

I leaned in close to the dragon and whispered, "I'm sorry." I was apologizing to it for the other human who had pinned it against a tree and left it to die. But in the end, I wondered if I did the right thing by inadvertently accelerating its death. I took a deep breath and sighed, knowing I had almost no chance of even comforting the dragon. But that misplaced sense of compassion told me to at least try.

For a moment, I couldn't believe how stupid I was for trying to "be a friend" in that dragon's last moments. A fully-grown wild and mortally injured animal all of a sudden begins to trust a human? Yeah, right. This was a reminder that the world I lived in was _not_ an idyllic place.

"That was stupid, Hiccup," I whispered to myself as I stood. I scowled, silently reminding myself to be more careful next time. I was lucky because the dragon could have easily bitten me or blasted me with fire.

I looked at the arrow pinning the dragon's corpse to the fir tree. Obviously man-made, and obviously designed to kill animals. Animals like the dragon in front of me. Using the arrow was easy. You nock it into a bow, pull the string and let the arrow fly. It'll always fly in a straight line until it finds its target. By my reasoning, I stood a chance of finding civilization if I traced an imaginary path backward from the arrow. And finding civilization gave me just a slight glimmer of hope for finding Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly.

I started walking in the direction I thought the arrow had been shot from. I passed my original path, still seeing slight impressions of both my boot and peg to my left. I continued past my tracks, keeping my eyes and ears open for any able-bodied dragons nearby.

As my footsteps echoed slightly throughout the trees, another vibration coursed through the ground. It was about the same intensity as previously, and just like last time, I stopped and tensed. Looked to my right, only to find more fir trees between me and the volcano. The trees were swaying gently, but that was it. I heard almost nothing except for the wind and creaking of branches. There was no low-pitched rumbling, no cracking sounds to tell me something was about to break.

I started breathing again, trying to convince myself this shaking would be the new normal, at least until I could get off this island. Each step I took was slightly insecure because I wasn't exactly certain where the ground was.

After maybe a minute, the shaking subsided. I groaned under my breath, frustrated that I had only found a piece of warfare as my only hint of civilization. The shadows were getting long, and all I had done was help a dragon die. I continued walking in a generally straight line, hoping to stumble upon a small miracle.

The wind was still blowing, creating a whistling sound as it passed through the trees. Occasionally, tree branches creaked, but that was it. I heard no heavy breathing, and I saw no signs of dragons or humans.

A sharp _thwack_ made me jump with a grunt and whirl around. My eyes were wide in panic, and my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest. Ten feet away from my head was an arrow of the same design as I found pinning that dragon. The fletchings were the same as earlier, stiff fibers with a murky red color. The angle of entry into the tree told me whoever shot it was slightly to my right. Whoever it was already knew I was here. There was no sense in turning back toward the coast, and I wasn't even sure if I could make it back quickly enough. I had forgotten to mark my trail along the way. Or, more accurately, I complacently thought I'd be able to find Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly and escape from this island with no problem.

Against my better judgment, I chose to follow the arrow's path toward its source. I cautiously peered around trees, hoping to spot someone. I hoped I could tell whether he or she was nocking another arrow for a killing shot. As I edged my way around the first tree, I saw I was correct. A young male about my age had already nocked an arrow and was aiming it at my forehead from about fifteen feet away. He was stocky with a similar build to Snotlout. He wore no helmet and only thin, earth-colored clothing that covered his torso, upper arms and legs. His hair was a deep brown and wildly pointing in different directions. His skin was probably the same shade as mine, but was covered in what looked like dirt or even grime. He obviously gave no thought to his appearance.

Instinctively, I dove for the ground with a short yell, half in panic and half in effort. I heard the arrow zip over my head and embed itself in another tree with a powerful _thwack_ sound again.

"Stand," the shooter commanded.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him draw another arrow from a small quiver and hold it against his bow string. He never pulled it back, but he was ready to fire again quickly. I bit my lower lip, knowing I was now compromised and had no other option. Silently, I followed his order.

I kept my hands generally in front of myself, trying to show him I had no weapons. He looked me up-and-down, and as usual for anyone new, I noticed his eyes settled on my peg for a few seconds. Typical.

He kept the arrow resting against the bow string, but in one smooth motion, he stepped forward and grabbed my upper left arm.

"Come," he said tersely. My feet followed along, but it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter.

This guy was a powerful walker. Well, everything he did was powerful. Completely unlike me. I was lanky with a decent amount of core strength, owing to flying on Toothless' back. But that was it. I felt like a rag doll, though, as he dragged me along with almost no effort. I had no time to clear branches out of my way, so after about two minutes, I had several small scratches on my face, hands and arms. Every time I scraped across another fir tree, those scratches burned fiercely for several seconds.

Finally, the guy stopped at the edge of a clearing. I was panting and itchy from all the tree branches scratching me, but he paid me no attention. As he waited, I wondered if my wish for finding civilization had really been granted. Maybe I should have been more specific in asking for civilization that would readily give Toothless back to me, as well as return Astrid and Stormfly.

I stayed quiet as he waited for a signal or something. He kept his hand on my left arm, squeezing just enough for it to begin throbbing uncomfortably. After several seconds, I saw him nod slightly, and he began striding again, me in tow.

Inside the clearing, it looked like a small village. Unlike what we had on Berk, this place was disorganized. Not only was it small, but equally small shanty houses were peppering the area in a haphazard fashion. Couldn't even call it a pattern. I saw no forge, and there was no obvious communal area. I silently thanked the gods I didn't live here.

As we took a few steps into the village, I noticed a faint, odd smell, like when you cook an egg and let it stand too long. Glancing around, I saw no hint of chickens, which was strange to me. The smell wasn't from eggs, but I had no other guess as to what it was from.

Looking above the trees, the same volcano was erupting in what looked to be slow motion. The cloud above it was rolling, and the base of it was dimly lit in red. I saw no lava flowing from the top of the volcano, which was a relief. But further down, I noticed that same bulge from earlier when my dad and I had landed. On its left side was a bright blue jet that gave off dark puffs of smoke. Blue fire. This wasn't like what you could find at the bottom of a candle flame. The entire flame was intensely blue. Kinda like Arvendole's Fire. I knew something wasn't right about the dome, and my feeling was further solidified by the presence of the blue flame. I knew I had to find Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly and get out of here quickly.

The sight was soon lost to me, obscured by tree tops as my captor dragged me further into the village. Several other people looked silently at me from their shanty houses, unblinking and wide-eyed. The place was absolutely silent, which unnerved me to no end. I felt like I was being led to a gallows or pyre for my execution.

My captor stopped suddenly in front of a nondescript shanty house, where an equally built woman about my height was standing, glaring at us. She was much older, maybe even older than my dad. It looked like life hadn't been kind to her, with several wrinkles crisscrossing her face. Her hair was thin and mostly grey with a few darker strands peppered in. Although she looked old, her eyes were piercing and told me nothing about what she was thinking. I, on the other hand, had no skill in that department and pretty much revealed everything about my panic and uncertainty within half a second.

She smiled a little, pointed at me with a gnarled finger and said one word in a hoarse, raspy voice. "Lifthrasir."


	5. Chapter 5

_Lifthrasir?_ I thought. _Like, from the story of Ragnarok? That Lifthrasir?_

I didn't know anyone by the name of "Lifthrasir" except for the supposed end of the world. According to legend, all of the gods would descend on Earth in a ferocious and drawn-out battle that would kill everything except for seven gods and two humans. We were unbelievably specific about it too, which was curious to me. I wondered just how we knew Fenrir was going to swallow Odin whole, or that Thor was supposed to walk exactly nine steps between being poisoned and keeling over dead. And yet, no mortal human could see a god face-to-face and live?

There were some tenets of our religion I believed in, like who was responsible for what, but Ragnarok didn't make much sense to me.

The lady in front of me kept her piercing gaze on my eyes as she slowly lowered her hand pointing at me. I glanced around for a brief moment, unsure of what to do. She had unequivocally pointed at me and called me "Lifthrasir." It would have been a nice little honor to be this tribe's designated heir, but I had more important things to worry about, such as a Night Fury.

There was an awkward silence between us, only broken slightly by the wind rustling the fir trees around us.

"You…live after Ragnarok," she clarified, breaking the vacuum between us. Both she and the Viking holding me spoke in simple and accented English.

I decided to probe a little. Maybe they'd know where Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly were. "When is Ragnarok?" I asked simply. These people didn't seem to understand English beyond short phrases. To keep them on my side for now, I played by their rules.

She paused for a second, thinking. Probably trying to phrase her answer. "When sun goes away, and sky becomes fire," she said. It was a standard answer, but she motioned toward the volcano behind her, the one with the dome, blue flame and sporadic eruptions. Oh, and the sudden earthquakes. I felt like the volcano was ready to explode at any moment. Maybe I could get Astrid and our dragons back and somehow convince these people to leave the island before anything bad happened. Like their version of Ragnarok.

Everything we knew about Ragnarok started with the sun going dark and the sky turning blood red. And these people were deeply connected to the volcano near them, I guessed. This would be an awfully convenient way to convince anyone about the end of the world. Get an eruption large enough, and it will obscure the sun and make the sky turn dark red. Just like the prophecies foretold us.

"And you chose me?" I asked, pointing to my chest.

"You Lifthrasir. You control dragons," she said.

 _That didn't take long_ , I thought. She knew about Toothless and probably Astrid and Stormfly as well. I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts. If I accused this tribe of stealing from us, they'd definitely go to war with us. Or just kill me. I had to somehow stay tactful and get to my friends without raising suspicion.

"I don't control dragons," I said after a brief silence. "Nobody controls dragons."

"You control _legend_. Black dragon of night," she said, once again clarifying herself.

"The Night Fury?" I asked. "I take care of him. But I don't _control_ him." I emphasized the word "control" to drive the point home. As the last few words tumbled out of my mouth, I decided to make a move. "Where is he, anyway?"

"You will see." And she left it at that. She glanced briefly at the Viking who had brought me in front of her, then slowly turned around. She painstakingly shuffled her way toward a shanty house.

The young man who had led me here must have gotten her message, because he quickly grabbed my upper left arm and tugged me to the side. He never said a word as he led me toward one of the shanty houses nearby. There were two people already in there. A young woman and a small child, probably around a year old. They must have been his family.

I looked around the small dwelling and noticed a few animal skins around the edges. A basin was to my left. And in the center of the house was a fire pit. There wasn't any way to direct the smoke out of the house except for a hole cut into the roof. I was surprised the house didn't smell more like smoke, but it could have been my nose playing tricks on me. The entire village still had an eggy smell I couldn't quite place. I had no idea where it was coming from, at least not yet.

Other than these few basic amenities, the house was bare. It was nothing like what I was accustomed to in Berk, but we had the advantage of metalworking. In my short tour of this village, I never saw a forge. So it stood to reason our materials and construction were more complicated than here.

"Sit," the Viking said. He was just as simplistic as the village elder. I hesitated for a brief second, then sat, still trying to get them to view me favorably. I wondered if I could ask the woman across from me to help me find Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly. They _had_ to be in this village, based on what the elder had said.

The child near the woman began crying. She had been slowly chewing something, and she reached into her mouth and pulled a morsel out. She reached over to the child and put it in his mouth. He swallowed without hesitation. I wasn't too put-off by this gesture because it was what we did in Berk as well. A mortar and pestle could only grind dry foods. Any water content like what you found in meats required a different approach.

But what disturbed me was how the woman glanced at me every time the child took a morsel out of her fingers. Like she was trying to get me to react or notice something. I glanced at the Viking still towering over me and asked, "Where's the Night Fury?" For clarification, I added, "The black dragon?"

"You will see dragon tonight," he said quietly.

The woman kept glancing at me and finally changed her pattern. She pulled a small morsel out of her mouth and offered it to me. I put out my hands to refuse it and said, "No, thanks. Not hungry." After a certain point, you outgrow being fed pre-chewed food. From then on, it's almost revulsive to think about eating it.

She didn't make any other moves except turning her attention back to the child. And continued feeding him the same way.

It didn't take too much longer for the woman to finish with the child, who sighed in contentment. She swallowed the rest of her mouthful, turned to me and said, "You must help."

"Help? With what?" I replied.

"The gods must choose you. Tonight."

"Choose _me_?" I asked. "For what?"

"For Ragnarok. They must see you."

"They can see me any time. What are you talking about?"

"You complete sacrifice."

"What!?" I nearly shouted. "You're going to sacrifice _me_!?"

I felt a rough nudge on my left shoulder. The male Viking, who was presumably the father of the child. "Respect," he said tersely.

"You are not sacrifice," the woman said. "Dragon."

I paused, almost afraid to ask the question pounding at the inside of my head. I probably knew what the answer was, but I gave in and asked it anyway. "Wh-which dragon?"

"Dragon of night," the father said before the mother could say or do anything.

I was a split-second away from opening my mouth to object but thought better of it. These people didn't care that they had abducted Toothless from me. They didn't care that they were going to sacrifice _my dragon_ in front of me. All they wanted was to make sure the gods looked favorably on them when Ragnarok happened. In their minds, sacrificing a Night Fury was the best way to draw the gods' attention.

This was one of the few times I could recognize a drawback to having a Night Fury. People only saw its potential to be a sacrifice. If they could obtain control over a Night Fury, then it'd mean they were masters of nature. Something the gods couldn't ignore.

Instead of retorting, trying to get Toothless back for myself, I paid attention to an idea that had formed almost instantly in my mind. I knew these people weren't going to let me near my dragon anytime soon. But maybe I could get Toothless to come to me if I acted stressed or angry. Or better yet, in danger. He always wanted to protect me, so I figured I could take advantage of it. And if I was able to get on his back and fly, finding Astrid and Stormfly was going to be a lot easier.

"What about the girl and her dragon?" I asked the air in front of me. "Where are they?"

"Part of sacrifice," the father said. There was no feeling to his tone of voice. He just stated it matter-of-factly.

I turned to him, unable to hide my flabbergasted look. "You…you're gonna… _kill_ them?" I asked.

He shrugged. "She not Lif," he said, as if that non-answer would explain everything for me. After a few seconds, he continued, "Need human sacrifice."

Lif and Lifthrasir. The two humans who would repopulate the world after Ragnarok. I had already been designated as their Lifthrasir. These people had already chosen a woman as Lif, and Astrid wasn't their selection. To make matters worse, they were intending on killing her.

"I thought the gods chose who was Lif and Lifthrasir. Not humans," I said, trying to address the entire Ragnarok issue at once.

"Gods told us," the mother said.

I wondered how much bartering with this family would actually accomplish in keeping Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly alive. These people were curt, that was certain. And they didn't seem to like arguing.

I tried anyway. "I think you should keep them alive. Let us go."

The father shook his head. "You chosen. You Lifthrasir. No leave."

"Chosen by _who_?" I shot back. "The last thing I want is for some random group of people to…"

The father whipped his bow and struck me across my right cheek. The blow surprised me so much I felt no pain, only shock. I toppled to my left with a shout, startling the child, who began crying again. The guard glared at me. "Respect," he repeated. "You Lifthrasir."

I touched my face where he had hit me. Brought my hand back to check for any blood. I felt my cheek burning slightly as I saw a red stain covering my right fingertips. As I sat up gingerly, I glared at the father for hitting me. But I kept my anger internalized. Didn't want another shot to the face like that.

…Or maybe I _did_. Not because of sadism. But because of Toothless. I figured there was a good chance I'd see him before any sacrifices happened. If he saw me with injuries or in danger, perhaps he'd give a monumental burst of effort to get us out of here. He had done that before during my rite of passage, when he surprised everyone on Berk. I had him confined to the cove, thinking it was a nice way to keep him in one location. But I guessed he had escaped through sheer will alone. Maybe I could access that.

I decided to wait until he could actually see me. They'd probably parade him into the middle of the village with some kind of muzzle on and keep him shackled so he wouldn't pose a threat. If I could make eye contact with him and put on a good enough acting job, there was a chance we'd be able to get off this island.

Thinking about this, I realized I was gambling with four lives: Astrid, Stormfly, Toothless, and myself. I needed a backup plan, just in case Toothless couldn't get free in time. And what if Astid and Stormfly were sacrificed before they even brought out Toothless? There were too many possible outcomes, and I was only hoping for one of them.

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and sighed. No other solutions came to me. Anything I could think of was overly complicated or time-consuming. Whatever I chose to do, it needed to be absolutely simple. Just get the job done and get out of here.

"You bleed," the woman said. A second later, I felt the blood drip from my cheek onto my chest. Looked down and saw a dark stain on my shirt that contrasted with the drab green.

I rolled my eyes in irritation. "Yes, thank you for being obvious," I said sardonically.

The guard must have picked up on my tone of voice because he shoved the tip of his bow into the side of my throat. I froze in a mixture of shock and panic, which let him push me onto the ground. He pressed the tip deeper into my neck, locking me there. "Re _-spect_ ," he said for a third time. He glared at me for a few seconds before removing his bow from my neck. As the pressure released, my breath escaped my mouth in a rush. I sucked in a loud breath and coughed several times, not caring if anyone heard it or if it upset anyone.

Predictably, the child began crying again. The mother picked him up and held him to her chest and left shoulder, as if to protect him. After about a minute, the child calmed down.

I glanced at the Viking out of the corner of my eye to make sure he wasn't going to hurt me again. He was simply glowering at me, waiting for my next transgression in this house. I could tell he was someone who didn't like to repeat himself. But then again, this entire village seemed to be that way. Maybe because language wasn't their strength.

In true Hiccup fashion, a sadistic idea entered my mind. I could frustrate these people by acting unintentionally irritating, and if Toothless saw this and had any hint of getting free, the first thing he'd do was rush over to my side.

The idea was something to work with, but I knew there were holes. If Toothless was locked to a spot, say with arrows sticking through his feet, everything I had thought of would be moot. But what choice did I have? There was only one chance at this, and playing the annoying little idiot was simple enough to pursue and sell. Not to mention I had years of experience at it. I almost grinned as I thought my innate ability to frustrate people just might be useful soon.

I sat up slowly, still eyeing the father and silently whispered a prayer to the gods to give Toothless a chance for escape. To the occupants in the house, it simply looked like I was lost in thought for a few seconds.

"How are you gonna sacrifice the dragon?" I asked as I committed to my plan.

"We kill it," he replied.

I scowled, not caring if he saw my expression or not. He must have, because he glared at me again. But he didn't move to hurt me this time.

" _How_ are you gonna kill the dragon?" I clarified.

"Cut its throat."

"Have you done this before?"

"Yes. Many times."

"Show me how you're gonna cut its throat," I said daringly. I knew from experience a slicing motion would never work. You have to stab if you want to actually cut a dragon's throat.

He didn't say a word as he dragged his right index finger across his throat.

"Never gonna work," I said dismissively. "The dragon's just gonna get angry with you."

"Sacrifice will not fail," he said succinctly.

"What if something goes wrong tonight?" I asked, probing further.

"Sacrifice will not fail," he repeated.

"Night Furies are pretty smart…" I said. I left the point open intentionally.

"Sacrifice will not fail," he repeated again.

If these people were as straightforward as I thought they were, it seemed they didn't have a backup plan if something went wrong during the sacrifice. Like, say a Night Fury got loose, for example.

Our conversation was interrupted by a light vibration coursing through the ground. The child whimpered slightly, but the mother and father were silent, as if this was a normal occurrence. The shaking lasted about a minute and then subsided. Nothing was out of place, and it was forgotten as quickly as it had come.

"Why don't you leave?" I asked after a silence.

"We live here," the woman said after some thought. She probably couldn't put into words what she was trying to say.

I clarified myself, trying to find that angle to play annoying. "You're not worried about the volcano?"

The father shrugged. "You live. Most important."

"If the volcano erupts, how fast will everything get here?" I asked. Chances were good we'd have no time to escape if the volcano suddenly blew up.

"You live. You safe."

"Then why am I still here!? If you want me safe, I shouldn't even be on this island!" I shouted. Half of my yelling was acting. The other half was my frustration with how dense these people were. There was no way I'd miraculously survive a cataclysmic eruption of this volcano.

The father took a step toward me as the child began to cry again. He glared at me for a second before kicking me in the ribs. I doubled over in pain as the breath got knocked out of me, gasping loudly in panic and trying to pull in precious air. The father bent down, grabbed me by my hair and wrenched my head up to meet his penetrating gaze. "Re- _spect_ ," he said quietly. His expression was calm and angry at the same time, as if he was saying he could kill me without a second thought.

A drumming sound came from outside, drawing the father's gaze away from me. For a moment, I thought it was the volcano erupting. He grabbed me under my upper left arm and hoisted me upright. I was still having trouble breathing, but he didn't seem to care. I was dragged outside, where most of the village had already filtered out of their homes.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to get his attention.

He never turned toward me as he dragged me toward the elder's shanty house. "Ragnarok begins."


	6. Chapter 6

As we gathered around a large open area in the village, I noticed a few people in what looked to be costumes. The sun was beginning to sink below the treetops, but there were several lit standing torches dotting the area, their dancing firelight bright enough to make out features. At my best guess, there were maybe a hundred people standing in a large circle. There were two people, a man and a woman, standing near large drums holding thick wooden sticks in their hands. The man was drumming a quick, steady rhythm, as if he was calling everyone to assembly. The woman was standing still for the moment.

I glanced toward the volcano and saw the same rolling cloud as before, the bottom of it dimly lit in a dull red color. And below the cloud some distance was the same jet of blue fire. The dome was barely visible due to the sun's angle, but I could tell it was still there.

The Viking holding my arm pulled on me slightly, so I stopped walking. He kept his hand closed over my arm, preventing any escape. We shuffled into place with the people around us.

"Why are they wearing costumes?" I asked, looking at the group of people who were dressed obviously different from the rest of us.

He looked at me quizzically for a second. "Ragnarok," he said simply. I realized he had told me Ragnarok was starting just a few seconds ago. He was talking about what looked to be a ritual.

I continued along with my selective ignorance. "So you know when it's actually happening?" I asked stupidly, trying to get a rise out of him.

He glanced at me again with that same befuddled look. "Now."

It was obvious he didn't know when the actual Ragnarok would happen. The costumes and drumming told me this was a ritual. And I was ready to bet a sacrifice was going to be part of it.

The same elderly lady who had greeted me as Lifthrasir slowly limped into the middle of the loose circle. She stopped, and the drumming ended as well. I watched as she looked around in the silence for a moment. She gingerly bent down and worked some loose dirt into her right hand. Stood and whispered something to her closed hand. She tossed the dirt into the air, creating a small cloud of dust in front of her.

"What does that mean?" I whispered, too cautious to really break the silence around us.

The Viking turned slightly toward me and shot me a sideways glance. There was a hint of irritation behind his eyes. I wasn't supposed to speak, but I didn't care. I had found a way to get on his nerves, and I was gonna exploit it.

Eventually, he said, "Sun and moon go away."

The two drummers yelled at the top of their lungs and launched into a polyrhythm, the drumbeats coursing through my chest. At the same time, one of the costumed people from across the circle jumped out in a stylized dance. His costume was earth-brown with what looked like long animal-like hairs on the head and back. He was wearing a loose-fitting cloak, and the mask was a wooden thing, vaguely wolf-shaped.

 _Fenrir,_ I thought. They had skipped the part about how the earth and mountains would shake, causing trees to fall. But with rudimentary materials, there's only so much you can present.

I was wondering where their depiction of Odin was when another male stepped into the ring, wearing a breastplate and stylistic helmet. Both were made of wood, but the helmet was dyed a light-yellow color.

 _Odin charges into battle against Fenrir,_ I thought.

Another man wearing their standard threadbare clothing followed Odin. The colors of his clothes were the same as what I had seen on that leather swatch we found on Berk. The red-and-blue-garbed man veered to his right slightly and faced a woman who had her hands pressed together. He was carrying a spear in his right hand. They started into their own dance, the woman making generally snake-like movements with her hands and arms.

 _Thor faces the serpent J_ _ö_ _rmungandr._

The drumming slowed and increased in volume as the drummers began a chant in a language I had never heard. Or their accented English was unintelligible to me.

Their Thor pushed his spear next to the side of the woman he was facing. She looped her arm around the spear and slowly fell to the ground, marking the snake's death. The actor portraying Thor turned away from her and began slowly walking in a steady rhythm, the drummers striking the drumheads once for each step. The people around me kept count.

 _One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine._

Their Thor sank to his knees and collapsed in a melodramatic display of feigned death.

"How do we know Thor takes nine steps before dying?" I asked over the drumming. On Berk, we only knew of the happenings through written pages. We loosely acted out the events similar to this once a year, but it didn't have the level of seriousness these people did.

All I received was a backhanded slap to my face. I tried to make a show of staggering, but his hand held me tight. After second or two of watching my production, he finally said, "Ragnarok." And left it at that.

The drummers picked up their beat again as the costumed Fenrir spread his cloak wide and wrapped it around their Odin, completely hiding him from view.

 _Fenrir swallows Odin._ According to legend, Fenrir was supposed to spread his jaws wide enough to span between the earth and heavens and then swallow Odin whole. But immediately after that, Vidar was supposed to rush in, clamp Fenrir's jaws open and split them in two.

I didn't get how we had all these conflicting sizes in Ragnarok. How could Fenrir stretch his jaws from the earth to the heavens, and yet Vidar could clamp them open?

The costumed Fenrir waddled to the side of the ring and let their Odin go, trying to keep him from sight. As he turned around, the drummers picked up the pace again, following another male in their standard threadbare clothing. Once again, his clothes were dyed red and blue. He stomped in front of the costumed wolf and thrust a wooden spear in the air. Their Fenrir fell backward in time with the drummers. Two men grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him out of the ring.

 _Vidar splits Fenrir's jaws and kills him._

A built man carrying a torch slowly walked into the center of the ring as their Vidar danced his way out. He thrust the torch into the air with a yell and dropped to his knees, plunging the flame into the ground. Orange embers scattered around the torch as the flame was extinguished.

 _Surtr covers the world in fire,_ I thought. They were missing several steps, such as the battle between Surtr and Freyr, or the fight between Heimdallr and Loki.

So I asked about it. "Where's Freyr?"

The Viking shook me roughly by the arm, telling me to stop asking questions.

"What about Heimdallr and Loki?" I continued.

" _Stop_ ," he said, yanking my arm toward him. I felt like my shoulder was going to pop out of place for a few seconds before he let go of the pressure.

I still had a grimace on my face when their Surtr looked at me and beckoned with a finger. The Viking holding me let go of my arm and shoved me into the center of the ring for everyone to gawk at as the drums faded into silence. I awkwardly glanced around, as if Lifthrasir would do after finding he and Lif were the only two humans left.

To my left was a young woman, about my age walking toward me. If the village elder had called me Lifthrasir, then this girl was certainly their Lif. She was about my height with long, dark hair. She had prominent cheekbones and a slender figure. Maybe too slender, considering how pointed her cheek bones were. She was obviously prettier than she normally would have been because I noticed a couple of areas on her face where pigment had been applied. It didn't fade evenly into her skin tone. In my opinion, she was nowhere near as good-looking as Astrid, even with all of that beautification.

The girl kept walking toward me slowly, waiting for the next step in their little ritual. Before she could get too close, I stepped backward and collided with a wall behind me. Looked back to find the same Viking who had been keeping me throughout the afternoon. He shoved me toward the girl, causing me to stumble into her arms. I grunted, trying to keep away from her, but she kept me held tight. She might have been thin, but she was definitely strong.

This was a really awkward spot to be in, especially if Astrid somehow happened upon this scene. But after a few seconds, it was obvious she wasn't here. Maybe because this tribe was waiting to bring her out as part of their sacrifice.

"Lif and Lifthrasir," the elder announced as the crowd around us murmured in assent.

The girl held me tight as I asked loudly, "Is this it? Can I get my friends and go home now?"

The village elder only said one word in response. "Sacrifice."

I had been mentally preparing myself for this moment, running through scenarios in my mind. But all of that preparation disappeared suddenly when I heard her say the word "sacrifice." It felt like a weight dropped in my stomach as panic began to set in.

The elder produced a knife about a foot and a half long from a leather scabbard at her right hip. About six inches of it was a wooden handle, and the rest was the blade. The business side of the knife wasn't made of metal, but it didn't matter once I realized what the material was. The glossy black luster on the blade told me it was obsidian.

I knew you could cut obsidian to achieve a dark-as-the-night-sky color with a beautiful luster. But you also got an added benefit if you got lucky on how it cleaved. The obsidian would naturally form a cutting edge sharper than any known metal tool. If the guard was right about slicing through Toothless' throat, this would be the knife to use.

In my mind, I pleaded with the elder to give me the knife so I could prevent it from reaching Toothless' neck. Or Astrid's or Stormfly's. And predictably, she turned away from me and handed the knife to the Viking who had brought me here. The same Viking who had found me wandering in the forest earlier today. I grimaced slightly as I watched my options to rescue Toothless, Astrid or Stormfly disappear in front of me.

The drums began another steady cadence as another murmur rose from the crowd around us. Several people to my right looked behind themselves and parted, revealing a Night Fury with empty eyes following two built men. I didn't recognize him at first because his expression was so different than it normally was. He had a leather muzzle bound tightly around his snout and covering his mouth. Shoved into the muzzle was a metal ring, which was probably jammed into his nostrils. The muzzle at the tip had a slightly darker color than the rest of the leather, and looking down toward his neck, a trickle of blood was forming a miniature river. An occasional drop of blood fell from the ring as it bit into his skin.

My jaw dropped as I realized this dragon was Toothless. I had gotten used to his bright and alert expression he always wore. But the hollow look in his eyes told me these people had tortured him. They must have shoved that ring into his nose quickly and yanked him everywhere once they got him onto this island. Or maybe even before that, perhaps when they got him onto their boat. If they had enough sedative for the four of us, then it made all the sense in the world. They could easily jam the ring into his snout at that point. And once Toothless woke up, he would have been too stressed and shocked to fight back.

Toothless gingerly padded behind the two men, keeping his head at a specific angle with the rope. Using pain, these people forced him to their will.

One of the men grinned for a second, looking at the other. He took control of the rope and yanked on it, pulling it taut. Toothless staggered forward with an obviously pained look in his eyes. He let out a smothered moan as the ring bit into his flesh. The muzzle was stretching as he tried to open his jaws, but the leather held together. Several people in the crowd shouted in assent, trying to goad the man holding the rope into another violent pull.

I tried to say something, anything, but the only sound that came out of my mouth was an exasperated groan. Watching my dragon get tortured like this had robbed me of any sense, just like the sedative did.

I pushed against the girl who was Lif for the ceremony, trying to get out of her grasp, but she was too strong. "You stay. You Lifthrasir," she said harshly.

I groaned again, just somehow trying to get away from her. I had to get between these people and my dragon. He didn't need to be in pain like this.

As the elder gave a nod to the Viking father, my breaths became sharper and more frequent. My time was running out to do anything. Several people in the crowd near me began saying different things, but the tone was all the same. They were alarmed about something, probably my attempts to escape.

I saw the elder glance in my direction, and a couple seconds later, she pointed at me. "No move," she said forcefully.

I groaned again, shoving my hands up and trying to push the girl away using her face. I missed, but ended up pushing her in the throat. She gagged slightly and loosened her grip just enough for me to jump backward, away from her.

I was gasping in heaving breaths as I tried to force my mouth to form any coherent sound. After several tries, I finally shouted, "TOOTHLESS!" I turned toward him and sprinted in his direction, hoping to get close enough to him so he'd notice me over the intensifying drums. I saw him glance upward just as the guard obscured my view of his eyes.

I cut to my right, trying to get around the guard and saw Toothless was eyeing the knife as the guard approached him. His right hand tightened over the handle. He was maybe five feet away from Toothless and walking steadily closer.

My heart was slamming in my chest as I realized there wasn't enough time to get to my dragon. He needed to notice me first.

"TOOTHLESS, C'MON!" I shouted again in desperation, my voice cracking. Panic had complete control over every part of me, including my voice. Everything I said had a strong quaver, and even my breathing wasn't under my control. His left ear perked slightly, and he glanced briefly in my direction, only to return his gaze to the knife for a split-second. I saw Toothless' eyes open wide in attention as the knife turned in preparation to slice his throat open. His eyes quickly moved to his left and settled on me. We made eye contact, but I didn't feel the magic I normally did when Toothless looked at me. But I knew he was paying attention to me.

Without thinking, I pointed my left index finger to the ground in a last-ditch attempt to keep him alive. I repeated the gesture over and over, each time more emphatic than the last. This was my nonverbal signal to him for a plasma blast. At this point, it was my only option to save him.

Toothless watched as I panicked, pointing to the ground repeatedly. His gaze was interrupted by the guard crouching slightly and fitting the blade under his chin.

I felt like I was going to throw up, watching Toothless just sit there while the knife moved closer to his throat. I grunted in complete terror, thrusting my entire left arm downward. My elbow and shoulder popped from the effort.

Toothless' eyes focused slightly, and I saw him pull in a quick breath through his nose. The muzzle holding his mouth shut exploded in streamers of leather and a bright blue fireball, knocking the guard on his back. The guard sprawled as his head slammed into the ground, bleeding from his right arm which had been severed at the wrist. A crimson pool of blood quickly collected around the stump, yet he lay completely motionless. And a short distance to his right was the obsidian knife. His disembodied hand was about six inches away from the handle, its fingers twitching.

Toothless quickly jumped forward a short distance and clamped his jaws around the rope. He bit down on the rope and ground his teeth together, severing it so nobody could regain control of him.

Within a second, people around me and Toothless screamed in panic and ran in every direction. Several of the men were running toward Toothless, trying to restrain him again. His eyes lit up in anger as he roared, his mouth agape. He stood on his back legs and lunged toward the advancing group. His left front claws swiped diagonally against the face and chest of one of the men, causing him to violently stagger backward and crash into the others behind him. Toothless adjusted himself midfall and repeatedly raked his claws from the face of another Viking down to his hips. Streamers of clothing, flesh and bone peppered the area around him. The Viking stopped midstride and crumpled, dead before he hit the ground.

I watched in paralyzed horror as Toothless launched a second fireball at the rest of the advancing group. It hit the Viking in the center of the four men and launched him backward, bringing the other three with him. The Viking who had taken the brunt of Toothless' fireball flew past my head and slammed into a tree. I heard, but didn't see, several bones crunching upon impact, followed by a loud _thump_.

Toothless roared into the crowd, daring anyone else to try and challenge him. He saw the girl who was their Lif running toward the knife in hopes to finish the sacrifice. I couldn't say anything, too affected by the havoc these people had unleashed.

Before she could get too close to him or the knife, Toothless shot another fireball directly into her chest, knocking her onto her back. As I turned to look toward her, I noticed a large, gaping wound in her lower chest. She screamed in pain and shock, but her legs never moved.

"KILL ME!" she shouted. It sounded like her voice was coming from a mile away. She was breathing in short gasps, unable to do anything with the air entering her lungs. I glanced at the knife ten feet away from me without thinking, but my legs wouldn't allow me to move toward it.

"KILL ME!" she shouted again. There was a strong rasp to her voice as I finally focused on her. My eyes locked to hers, unable to break away from her gaze. The rest of me was completely immobile.

Tears had already begun to form and were rolling down my face. This wasn't what I had intended for our escape to be at all. Toothless was supposed to miraculously break free of his bonds, rush to my side, and we'd take off without a problem. Nobody would be hurt, we'd find Astrid and Stormfly hiding in shelter, and we'd fly happily back to Berk.

I watched as she tried to say the same phrase, but instead of words, a rush of blood flowed out of her mouth with a burbling sound. She coughed weakly in reflex, a brief red splash coating her face and neck. But she made no visible effort to clear the blood out of her throat.

I felt a lump appear in my throat as I realized I couldn't kill her, not even out of mercy. I finally took two halting steps backward, feeling her eyes burn into my mind. Glanced at Toothless, who was still snarling, making sure the remaining Vikings around us got his message. Glanced back at the girl. She weakly mouthed _kill me_ , a steady trickle of crimson still flowing from her mouth, her eyes still locked to mine and slowly becoming more glassy. She hitched with each attempted breath, her entire upper body spasming with the effort. After maybe ten seconds, her chest stopped moving.

I heard Toothless roar in anger again. Looked haltingly in his direction. His chest was heaving with each breath, and the ring was still wedged in his nose. Fresh blood was dripping down into his mouth, coating his tongue and front teeth. He finished his roar after what seemed like forever, looked around for any other threats, and turned his attention toward me. Every time he exhaled, a crimson mist coated the area in front of him.

My lower jaw was shaking from fright, causing my teeth to chatter. I was taking quick, shallow breaths, and my skin had turned to ice. My right foot stepped backward on its own, and the first thought that entered my mind was, _I have to get out of here._

I turned away from Toothless and ran.


	7. Chapter 7

I made Toothless kill people. I voluntarily told him to do it. I'm the reason they're dead.

 _I'm a murderer._

Those three words echoed around in my head as I ran away from the village, moving generally uphill. I staggered through evergreen branches, not even trying to clear them out of the way. My right cheek was burning fiercely again, aggravated by the whiplike motion of the branches against the open gash on my face. My breaths were coming and going in desperate gasps. I figured any dragon looking for an easy meal could just follow the noise I was making.

My progress was slowed as I was jarred by a blow to my right side. Two steps later, I tripped over something. It felt like a root, but I didn't care. I landed face-down in the dirt without trying to break my fall. My mind was still locked onto the carnage I had caused in the village.

I groaned, just trying to do anything whatsoever to bring myself back to normal. I just wanted control over my movements, but it was completely gone. The area I was lying in was just dusty enough to feel the grit coating the inside of my mouth. But I didn't do a thing about it. Because my mind didn't care. I just lay face-down, my chest heaving, my voice becoming more raspy.

I coughed from inhaling so much dust. The cloud I produced found its way into my eyes, causing them to burn. I forced myself to roll over and rubbed ineffectually at my eyes. After a few seconds, the burning pain got worse, so I finally sat up and let my tears slowly wash the grit out.

I pulled my knees to my chest and made a shaky attempt at a sigh. After a few seconds, I sprawled again on my back with an exasperated groan. I was shaking so badly that I couldn't sit still. My eyes were still burning from the grit, and I was still breathing in heaving gasps.

In the distance, I heard an angry roar. It sounded like Toothless again, and it was coming from the direction of the village. No other sounds besides the wind whistling through the trees met my ears. I couldn't tell if Toothless was locked in combat or if he was just angry.

I looked around myself, still on my back, in an effort to find something for self-defense. The trees around me all looked healthy, but about twenty feet away was one evergreen with a two-foot long branch snapped near the trunk. It was fresh, like it had been broken just recently.

I sat up with a pained groan, my breathing finally calmed somewhat to heavy, panting breaths through my mouth. There were no more desperate gasps for air. As I looked more closely at the branch to my left, I instinctively rubbed my right arm near my shoulder. A bump was forming on my upper right arm. The break in the tree branch was fresh because I had collided with it. And nearby was a fist-sized rock sticking out of the ground.

Slowly, I stood and hobbled over to the branch. Picked it up. Stripped the evergreen twigs off to leave a makeshift spear. Or club if I needed. I looked around myself, my lungs finally calming down enough to breathe through my nose.

I flexed my wrist, hefting the branch to see if I could actually do anything with it. Wasn't too heavy, so I figured it would be fine for a single threatening predator.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I still had a noticeable quaver in my breathing that I couldn't do anything about. I was on my own, and all I could do for Toothless was hope he had somehow gotten to safety. It was all I could do for Astrid and Stormfly as well, wherever they were.

 _I ran away from Toothless_ , I thought. I left him with a bunch of people who wanted to kill him. Who wanted to sacrifice him.

I bent over slightly, my hands on my knees as I realized I had probably condemned Toothless to his death. He had survived an extra few minutes beyond what he was supposed to because of me, but it would only give those people more reason to kill him. My vision went blurry from tears building in my eyes, knowing I had abandoned my dragon.

I looked at the branch I was holding in my left hand, thinking I could legitimately get one use out of this weapon before it broke. I stood up and turned toward the village. Took a deep breath and began walking back. For Toothless. If I could get to him, I knew we'd be able to find Astrid and Stormfly.

I had taken maybe five steps when another earthquake coursed through the ground. It didn't feel any different than the previous ones, so I simply stayed where I was and let it pass. I waited five seconds, ten seconds, counting them away. But after about twenty seconds, I felt the shaking get worse under my feet. A loud explosion to my left tore the air in two, making me drop my branch and reflexively cover my ears with a groan. It didn't do me any good because my reaction was late anyway. I looked left, toward the volcano.

Just as my eyes located the dome structure, the one that had the blue flame nearby, it began to slide downhill, like it was rolling. The movement was slow at first, barely perceptible, but it picked up speed within a second or two. As the dome slid away, a second explosion rocked the island, blasting the volcano's flank wide open. Where the dome was.

"No!" I shouted to the air in front of me. "I haven't gotten Toothless yet!"

Dark grey streamers flew away from the volcano's flank as it erupted, sending a gigantic cloud of ash and steam skyward. I was facing west and saw the growing cloud block out the late evening sun. After several seconds, the base of the cloud began glowing a dull red. The color climbed into the cloud, giving the entire western sky a reddish tint.

Below the volcano's peak, I saw a bright mixture of red and blue lava sliding down the flank, following the landslide that had just been started a few seconds ago.

This was what I had been worrying about as soon as I had set foot on this island. The volcano didn't look safe to me, and now it was blowing its top.

The lava rolling down the volcano's flank looked to be headed slightly away from me, but I felt the heat building as it approached. I squinted from the increasing heat and started to move away from the village. Within a few seconds, that same eggy smell washed over me, much more intense than what I had smelled in the village. My nose wrinkled in distaste, but there wasn't anything I could do about the odor. It must have been from the lava. As the flow progressed down the slope, I realized it was gonna strike the village head-on. The village I had just escaped a few minutes ago. The village where I had abandoned Toothless. I couldn't go back there, not with the advancing heat and lava flow.

"Toothless, I'm sorry…" I said to nobody. I turned away and shuffled further up the slope, away from the pyroclastic flow. I took about three steps and glanced back, just hoping he somehow survived the eruption. I saw a mixture of red-and-blue lava, similar in color to that tribe's clothing and insignia, flowing toward the ocean. The blue swirls, in particular, had roughly the same color as one of Toothless' fireballs. For a second, I wondered if the same material was present in the lava as Toothless used for his fire. Where the lava flow met trees, it simply uprooted them. The trees toppled into the lava and burst into flames within seconds. Several of them exploded with loud bangs as the water inside turned into steam from the heat.

"I'm sorry, bud," I whispered.

I continued trudging up the slope, away from the heat and former village. My vision was still blurry from tears that wouldn't go away. And I was empty-handed, but it probably didn't matter. Any large predator like a dragon would have been more focused on getting away from here than eating.

I had no idea how long I was walking, but I stopped and turned to look at the lava flow again. Most of the blue color had disappeared, leaving only bright red to orange colors. The volcano to my left was still erupting, still belching out a red column of ash that was overtaking the entire sky.

 _This is Ragnarok,_ I thought. _This is what those people were talking about._ The sun, moon and stars would be blocked from view, and the sky would turn blood-red. The world would be covered in fire, leaving only seven gods and two humans as survivors.

I froze, clinging to what seemed to be a false hope. Two humans were supposed to survive Ragnarok and repopulate the world. Maybe Astrid would be a modern-day Lif. And according to the prophecies, Lif and Lifthrasir were supposed to be together. You know, for obvious reasons. And they would drink the morning dew from leaves to survive for a while. At this moment, it didn't seem that was feasible. The air around me was too hot to support any kind of dew on leaves.

But if I really _was_ part of Ragnarok, it meant there would be no other survivors. Just seven gods and two humans. And that was it. Maybe Astrid would all of a sudden show up and surprise me, but I'd never see Toothless or Stormfly again.

I looked down as I turned away from the lava flow and started walking again. I wasn't sure how I'd get off this island, especially considering my dad and Skullcrusher had probably already left. If not earlier this evening, then definitely when the volcano began erupting.

Another series of explosions rolled through the island, catching my attention. They were some distance away and sounded exactly like thunder. I glanced back to see lightning bolts shooting from the red ash cloud coming from the volcano. A few seconds later, they were followed by claps of thunder. I watched the scene unfold for a few seconds, then impassively turned and restarted my trek up the hill.

I finally got to the top of the hill and stopped to rest for a few minutes. There were still trees around me, but they weren't as thick as they were closer to the village. The volcano was still violently erupting, lava spilling down its side. I followed the red-orange river with my eyes toward the ocean, where the flow had already met the water. Large clouds of steam were billowing from the shoreline, effectively preventing any hint of getting to this place from the north.

I sat down, pulling my knees to my chest and simply watched. The lava illuminated the area enough to make out the faint outlines of trees around me. I saw no sign of the village, although I knew it had probably been buried during the initial landslide. The village was located in a small open area, surrounded on two sides by hills, one side by the volcano, and the other by the ocean. A sight line straight up to the volcano was visible, which meant those people lived in a valley. It was a perfect setup for a lava flow to course directly through the village. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, so I wondered why they chose to settle at that particular location. Tradition, maybe? Maybe the volcano hadn't erupted for several decades, leading them into a sense of complacency.

I scowled, frustrated with them for holding me and Toothless hostage. And I wanted to blame them for the loss of my dragon. And not to mention Astrid and Stormfly.

"I hope you're happy you got your sacrifice," I said sarcastically to the air in front of me.

I put my head in my hands, cursing my inability to actually do something during a chaotic situation yet again. The same thing happened during a dragon hunt on Berserker Island. And I completely froze in fear when Toothless bit through that Speed Stinger's neck. Both of those times, I seemed to come through generally unscathed, probably because of sheer luck. But this time, luck wasn't on my side.

I should have run over to Toothless, got on his back and taken off.

I was planning on waiting the eruption out and then trying to find a way off this Thor-forsaken island when a light mist began to fall. Only, it wasn't wet. I looked around myself and saw several faintly visible flakes lazily drifting downward around me. It wasn't snow, because we were about to transition into summer. Not to mention the heat from the lava flow would have melted any snowflakes. I glanced at the eruption column again and immediately realized this was ash falling around me. Within no time, I'd be coated in the stuff, and I was willing to bet breathing it in was a bad idea.

With a groan, I stood and continued my trek. I began climbing down the hill I was on, my back facing the volcano. I was hoping to find some kind of natural shelter or grotto on the leeward side of the hill. Somewhere I could stay for some time to let the eruption cloud subside.

It was difficult negotiating the hill because both the evening sun and lava were on the other side of the hill. I took each step carefully, making sure not to twist an ankle or knee.

After a while of walking downhill, I felt the terrain slowly become more level. I looked around and felt a tingle course through my nose. Two seconds later, I sneezed, the noise echoing to my right just slightly. I whipped to my right and power-walked in that direction. Within a few steps, I heard my breaths echoing quietly. There was nothing here except for an empty space. But it seemed to be enough shelter to avoid most of the ash falling from the sky. I put my hands out and slowed my pace down. Took one slow step forward. Nothing met my hands. Took another step. I felt my fingers rub against a rocky texture. It was somewhat cool to the touch, so I wedged my back up against it and sat down. And sighed. Good enough for now.

The wind rustled the fir and pine trees around me, creating a light whistling sound that bounced around in my little shelter. I heard occasional thunderclaps coming from the volcano. And through it all, I heard something else. Something more rhythmic, maybe like a large creature breathing heavily. It seemed the breathing was coming from a different angle than the thunder. As I moved down the hill, the thunder became much weaker in intensity, but this other sound was soft enough that it couldn't wind its way around the hill.

I looked to my left, in what I thought was the direction of the sound. Hoped it wasn't a predatorial dragon, like a Changewing. If nothing else, I just wanted to be alone. At least I'd stay alive for a little while longer.

Nothing met my eyes, which wasn't surprising. Some surfaces in front of me were dimly lit by the lava's distant glow, but nothing looked like an animal. My heart rate quickened and my breathing became slightly heavier as I heard the sound approaching. I held my breath for a few seconds, trying to listen for anything else. Over the rush of my heart beat, I heard heavy, almost dragging footsteps. They didn't come in pairs, so I knew it wasn't a human. The breathing was too low-pitched anyway.

 _Please don't kill me,_ I thought.

About fifteen feet away, just barely on my right side, I saw a pair of eyes appear and make eye contact with me. I yelped in panic, rolling to my left, away from the creature and scrambled to my feet. I had barely taken a step when my peg collided with something hard. The catch that held it to my knee slipped, and I felt it cutting into my left knee. I fell to the ground with another yell, this time in pain. Rolled over and ripped the peg off my leg. I felt the air sting my left knee as I tried to slip my peg back on, but I couldn't move fast enough. The panic coursing through my hands was too much for me to handle.

Those same eyes appeared again, this time about five feet away, lit just barely enough to make out some color. We made eye contact again, and before I could look away, I noticed they were a familiar yellow-green color. I paused for a second, mentally measuring the distance between them and concluded it wasn't a Changewing. They were set too far apart and weren't the right color. A Changewing's eyes were close together and had much less color. They were almost white, as far as I remembered.

I heard a pained _whuff_ come from the creature and realized I could barely make out an outline of its body. I focused on what I could see for a moment, that is, until my brain connected with that breathing sound. To me, it sounded like the bellows I used to heat the coals in the forge. And I knew of exactly one animal who sounded like that when breathing.

I didn't say a word as the creature approached. I only felt my eyes watering as I relaxed with a gigantic sigh. I sprawled on my back and stared skyward, silently thanking whichever gods were left after Ragnarok.

They had kept Toothless alive.

I listened to Toothless slowly pad his way toward me, his breathing slightly pained. He gave a slight groan with each breath, but I didn't care at the moment. Toothless' head blocked a fraction of the billowing cloud from the volcano, his eyes dimly visible in the night air. I saw him look slightly away, and a second later, there was a gentle push on my left shoulder, followed by a soft grunt. He was pressing his front paw into me, checking to see if I was awake.

I scooted backward a short distance and sat up, facing him. I shimmied my back into the rock wall behind me. A brief glint at his snout told me that ring was still shoved into his nose. I reached out with my right hand, avoiding the ring, and rested it on his cheek.

"Hi, buddy," I whispered to him.

Toothless closed his eyes and gave a soft moan. He relaxed under my touch and pulled himself closer to me. I felt his warmth as he settled in close with a murmur. For a moment, I completely forgot we were on a foreign island whose people tried to kill my dragon. I didn't care that a volcano was erupting nearby. For the time being, I felt completely safe because of Toothless. Because of his magic.


End file.
